Around Us

Published 12:00 pm, Thursday, November 11, 2010

CLAUDE - While on the Pacific island of Peleliu 66 years ago, Charles Roan was seeking protection from hand grenades when one landed near him and four comrades.

Roan, a Claude native who served in the Marines during World War II, flung himself on the grenade to absorb the explosion's impact. He saved the lives of the four men.

Roan's heroics posthumously earned him a Medal of Honor in 1945, and his name is now written on the Texas Marine Medal of Honor Monument in Town Green Park in The Woodlands.

The Texas Marines Medal of Honor Fund, a nonprofit organization, honored Roan during a Marine Corps birthday celebration at Town Green Park on Wednesday afternoon.

Another person honored was Thomas Creek, an Amarillo native who served during the Vietnam War. In a situation similar to Roan's, Creek, who also posthumously was awarded a Medal of Honor, saved the lives of five Marines in 1969 when he dove on a grenade during a firefight near Vietnam's Cam Lo resettlement village.

While Roan's actions have earned him recognition many times in the past, a group of veterans is looking to build a memorial that would honor Roan and other veterans from Armstrong County.

Claude's American Legion chapter began taking donations for the memorial more than a year ago, raising about $10,000 so far, said Fred Robason, the chapter's vice commander. He said the memorial the chapter wants will cost between $60,000 and $70,000.

If all the money is raised, the chapter will install the memorial on the northeast corner of highways 207 and 287. The project is expected to include statues of Roan and other Armstrong County veterans.

Robason said the chapter plans to have a meeting to flesh out the details of the memorial and to identify the remainder of the funding needed for the project.

"We'd like to have (the memorial) up by the Caprock Rodeo, which is in early July," Robason said. "If the money starts coming in, we can start doing more." - Amarillo Globe-News

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LUBBOCK - A teenage murder suspect was moved to the Lubbock County Jail after authorities say he assaulted a detention officer at the juvenile detention facility.

Authorities charged Clarence King, 17, with assaulting a public servant in connection to an incident last Thursday at the Lubbock County Juvenile Justice Center, 2025 N. Akron Ave.

Police say King, who was being held in connection with the May 23 murder of Marqus Lewis, assaulted John Edward Groneman, 23, a detention officer at the facility, according to court documents.

Groneman told officers that King refused to cooperate when he told him to go back to his room while King was sitting in the day room area, court documents show. After numerous verbal attempts, Groneman said he got the "green light to go hands-on with (King)."

At one point, Groneman's arm got stuck under King's chest, and that's when he said King purposefully rolled over on Groneman's right hand, causing it to become swollen and bruised.

The bail attached to King's assault charges was $50,000.

King was being held at the juvenile justice center because when he was charged with Lewis' murder he was still 16. But under Texas penal code, a 17-year-old is considered an adult.

King was one of three suspects charged in Lewis' murder. - Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

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LUBBOCK - People who donate blood to United Blood Services today through Saturday will get a free appetizer courtesy of Texas Roadhouse.

Donors also will be registered to win a night out, including a dinner at Texas Roadhouse, movies at Tinseltown and a floral arrangement from Market Street.

The organization is in need of all blood types.

To be a donor, you must be at least 16 years old and be in good health.

The blood donation center is located at 48th Street and University Avenue, and staff can be reached at 797-6804.

CANADIAN - The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined a Canadian construction firm $7,000 and said violations that resulted in the deaths of two employees were "serious."

The agency levied two fines -$3,500 each - against Nick Thomas Inc. of Canadian for its role in a June 8 natural gas pipeline explosion that killed two people near Darrouzett in Lipscomb County.

The agency cited Nick Thomas Inc. for not locating the underground pipeline before beginning excavation in a caliche pit, according to OSHA records. The agency also cited the company for not notifying utility companies of its intentions to dig the pit, or asking those utilities to locate underground infrastructure, OSHA said.

Nick Thomas Inc. was not available for comment Wednesday.

Johnnie Mike Renner, 44, and Steven Douglas Odell, 32, both of Pampa, were killed when a ripper on the back of a bulldozer they were using to dig caliche struck a 14-inch natural gas line about two miles outside of Darrouzett, authorities said.

Another man was critically injured in the blast, and two others were treated and released from a hospital. - Amarillo Globe-News

(Contact Doug McDonough at dmcdonough@hearstnp.com or 806-296-1350. Follow him on Facebook.)